What to expect from Panama
What should England prepare for?
The polite way of describing Panama’s approach would be to call it “uncompromising”. This group of players will not be overawed by England’s cohort of Premier League stars, and they are desperate to make a mark on their first ever World Cup. The bruised shins of Eden Hazard, who certainly experienced Panama’s physicality in the opening round of fixtures, will provide testament to that, as will their tally of five yellow cards against Belgium – the most bookings for one team in a World Cup game since Holland tore chunks out of Spain in the 2010 final. Thibaut Courtois, the Belgium goalkeeper, later urged referees to clamp down on “cheap and unnecessary tackles”. Panama are likely to be compact and deep-lying, much like Tunisia were in the second half of England’s 2-1 victory in their first game on Monday. They will not want to allow Gareth Southgate’s side to find their rhythm, and they will hope to be able to play their way out of the English press when they do win the ball.
Who is the manager?
Hernan Dario Gomez, who is known as El Bolillo, or The Truncheon, has previously taken Colombia and Ecuador to the World Cup finals. He was in charge of Colombia in 1998, when they were defeated 2-0 by England – thanks to goals from Darren Anderton and David Beckham – and then guided Ecuador to their first ever World Cup in 2002. He was reinstalled as Colombia manager in 2010, but resigned from the role amid mounting pressure from the public, and from sponsors, after he punched a woman outside a bar in Bogota. The mayor of Bogota said his actions, allegedly provoked by the woman’s criticism of his tactics, “are something that no human can accept”. He then moved to club side Independiente Medellin before taking over as Panama manager in 2014. He has said that qualification for Russia was “one of the best things that has ever happened in my life”.
Who are the key men?
Captain Roman Torres, the powerful centre-back, is Panama’s poster boy. This is partly due to his enormous hair and bulging biceps, but primarily because it was he who scored the dramatic winner that sealed their qualification. “You always have to impose yourself,” he said when asked about the criticism Panama had received for their aggressive tackling against Belgium. “You have to mark out your territory.” Ahead of Torres, Armando Cooper is an industrious presence in the midfield who looks the most likely to go past a player with a dribble or to execute a defencesplitting pass. Next to him is Gabriel Gomez, a wily defensive midfielder, who destroys attacks and keeps things simple. Against Belgium, Gomez completed 100 per cent of his 46 passes. “We are men, we are aggressive,” Gomez told The Sunday Telegraph before the tournament. “We are a team that knows how to play and when we have to fight, we fight.”
How did they fare against Belgium?
Panama were certainly able to frustrate Belgium in the first half of their 3-0 defeat, when Roberto Martinez’s side appeared to lack imagination in attack. It will be a source of encouragement that Belgium needed a wonder goal from Dries Mertens, who struck with a dipping volley, to open the scoring. “England are a bit more direct than Belgium,” Torres said after the defeat on Monday. “They try to make use of the pace they have. We’ll need to be compact and limit their space.” In attack, Panama are clearly short of firepower. They are probably the least dangerous side in the tournament when it comes to scoring goals, although they did at least create one clear opening in Sochi when Michael Murillo’s low shot was saved by Courtois. Encouragingly for England, who have already demonstrated their penchant for late goals, Panama visibly tired in the latter stages of the Belgium game. Simply put, they will not be as fit as England’s players, and they will struggle to maintain their high-intensity tackling for 90 minutes.